This post has been updated again in 2020 to provide better and more up to date information. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Introduction
I’m writing this post to explain a phenomenon that I used to detest as a younger Christian, yet strangely enough, am personally experiencing myself more and more of. As I am growing in my faith, I don’t see this trend going in the opposite direction, and so now at this point, I am begging for some theological and biblical reflection on this phenomenon. This phenomenon is none other than being drunk in the Holy Spirit.
I’m writing this because I feel that I have two audiences reading; both of which I want to explain what I’ve learned as well as learn from.
First are my non-charismatic / conservative / Reformed / curious friends who will have responses to this phenomenon which range from “This is unbiblical”, “This is pointless”, “I don’t have experience of this”, “This is honestly really weird”, to “I’m actually a bit curious about it.” Yes I have you in mind as I write because I care about you and want to defend not only mine and many other Christians’ experiences, but show that there is good biblical precedence for this phenomenon. Also I want to learn from you and hear your thoughts about this.
Second are my super charismatic / pentecostal friends. While I have ecstatic experiences in the Holy Spirit, I admit not as much as you guys. So I want to hear your mystical experiences and spiritual insights into this.
So here’s my biblical and theological reflection on why some Christians roll around the floor laughing with joy. Enjoy.
Biblical Precedence for Spiritual Drunkenness
Yes, I am being drunk in the Holy Spirit and am a Bible-believing Christian. What are the odds? I want to show some passages in the scriptures which inform my understanding of being drunk in the Spirit.
Acts 2:1-13 – Pentecost
“But others mocking said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’”
The first place I want to look is Acts on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is prophetically poured out powerfully on the believers at the time. What happens is that “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Furthermore, the crowd gathers around them and mocks them first with amazement. But the second observation they note is striking to me.
It says, “Others mocked them saying, ‘They are filled with new wine’” (2:13). Even Peter would later respond to this accusation by saying “These are people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day” (2:15).
What an interesting way to describe the filling of the Holy Spirit, that the apostles were “drunk”. When you think of a group of people being drunk, even across different cultures, I think you can imagine the same scene–probably a boisterous, tipsy, and chaotic scene. I can imagine them falling over, being a little light headed, and laughing, intoxicated with the influence of the wine.
The reason I think this is the case is because the accusation of being drunk doesn’t satisfy men simply standing there speaking in other human languages, because that’s quite a normal activity that happens (even though it was supernaturally given to them). This description given in Acts reveals a more chaotic scene as the influencing power of the Holy Spirit is on them.
In short, I think the scene in Acts is one of men and women who are filled with the Spirit, and being drunk in His presence. This intoxicating presence leads them to speak in other languages declaring God’s praises, and leads to the possibility of other activities fit for the description of being drunk e.g. being tipsy, light-headed, falling over, laughing excessively.
Read whether there are two Pentecosts
Ephesians 5:18
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.
We enter further into the New Testament, which I argue has a very robust and pervasive theology of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians, Paul comments on being filled with the Spirit and contrasts it with “being drunk with wine.”
The comparison is meant to show that there is a both strong connection and difference between being intoxicated with wine and being intoxicated with the Holy Spirit. The similarity, by nature of the metaphor, is that both are powerful controlling substances/agents.
When alcohol enters our system it leads us to a number of things e.g. lowering of inhibition, fake friendliness, fake happiness, laughing at things, lower bodily control. These usually only bring us to bad places because people do stupid things when they’re drunk.
When the Spirit is filling us, I think it leads to many of those things like alcohol, except in the opposite direction. Lowering of inhibition leads to boldness for Jesus, friendliness and supernatural joy, laughing at things (because God is quite funny), and lowering bodily control (an inherent quality of controlling substances).
When people are filled with the Spirit, they do great things they will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. But what I’m highlighting here is the phenomenological similarities between being drunk in the Spirit and being drunk with wine.
1 Samuel 19 – Saul Prophesying with the Prophets
the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied…
A study on the Spirit in the Bible will eventually lead you to a study of the Spirit in the Old Testament, as its presence is quite frequent. Of the many, I will highlight just one.
This is actually both a hilarious and powerful scene.
Saul is chasing David to kill him. And then out of nowhere, the text says, “the Spirit of God falls on Saul’s messengers and they started prophesying.” There was a sudden interruption of their course of action as the Spirit fell on them. They couldn’t chase David anymore because the Spirit of God was on them. It wasn’t just a mental shift like “Oh I’m going to stop chasing David now”, but they were physically arrested by the Spirit of God which led them to prophesy uncontrollably.
Most people won’t believe it but the text will go on later to say that Saul would be hit and filled with the Spirit of God and, I quote, “he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night” (19:24).
What a strange yet powerful image of the Holy Spirit.
I bring this to show that the Spirit has power in him which leads to real physical effects on the human person as witnessed by the people in the Bible who were filled with him.
Spiritual & Theological Reflections
My Experience of Being Drunk in the Spirit
Experience doesn’t teach everything but it does inform our theology more than we give it credit for, so allow me to share my personal experiences.
I’ve come to a point in my faith when I can recognize the move of the Spirit in my life. I can tell when he’s deeply wounded by my actions, when he’s ecstatic by my presence, when he’s just enjoying our conversation, or when he’s filling me with spiritual power for a ministry task.
In addition, the Christian life is about making a proper resting place for Jesus to dwell and move in us. So as I am growing and Jesus is having more of my heart, there is more room for his presence to dwell in me.
With that, my experiences of encountering God over the years become increasingly intense, and I have a handful of powerful ecstatic experiences that only a few people know about. But lately, being filled in the Spirit to a point where I am just sitting there chuckling or falling over completely bawling with uncontrollable laughter has been an increasing occurrence.
What happens to me during that time? Well, for sure, I feel the joy of the Lord. Joy is not something you can fake. There’s a real sense where the joy of God’s presence (Ps 16:11) is manifested in that moment. All my worries that I was presently thinking about are suddenly put into perspective of being in the presence of an overly joyous God. His joy wells up inside me and I can’t help but just laugh because my troubles are so silly. He loves me like crazy.
It’s like God is tickling me and revelation is just flowing. I see and hear thoughts constantly; I literally want to write and tweet them out all the time. I will want to spontaneously dance and worship God, which I often will do. His presence on me is so strong with divine happiness and I will start praying in tongues.
Read about what the Spirit is meant to do
I’ve been drunk in front of my roommates before and they thought it was a very strange sight. That’s fine–I think it’s strange when people are drunk on wine. When I’m filled with God’s presence I am completely in another universe, the universe of God’s love.
The Phenomenon of the Living God inside of Us
To the concern of there being a phenomenological result at all when the Spirit of God comes on us, my concerns are actually the opposite. My concern is when the living God of the universe enters a frail finite human frame, why isn’t there an even greater phenomenological response?
Why aren’t we all blowing up with the amount of energy which exists in the Triune God dwelling inside of us? The fact that people, when filled with the Spirit of God, are falling over, shaking, or laughing uncontrollably seems almost like a small thing.
To understand the phenomenon of being drunk in the Spirit, we have to come to understanding that God touches us not just in a “spiritual” way, but in a real physical way. I think this is the point of the biblical passages I brought forward. His presence is not just a force or a feeling, but it is the person of Jesus, with all his emotions and power dwelling inside our weak and frail bodies.
Read about why we should pray to the Holy Spirit
Drunkenness as Operating From an Alternate Universe
It is known that Jesus’ entire ministry is based on this: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (John 5:19). He does everything because he sees his Father in heaven doing it.
It’s out of this that Jesus spends precious time praying alone with Father. His time with God completely dominated his life and informed his ministry. He did everything out of being connected with God.
It is out of this which led him to do things that no one else thought was plausible. He waited an additional 2 days to heal Lazarus; he went into Jerusalem despite people wanting to kill him; he fed 5000 people with a few loaves and fish despite his disciples’ insistence. He simply saw things differently. It was as if he was operating from an alternative universe. Yes, it is the universe of his Father’s world.
Being drunk in the Spirit is like that. When the Spirit of God is on you in a powerful way, you have access to the heavenlies like never before. You begin operating out of the presence of God residing in you. It’s quite a humorous and exciting experience when you are laughing with joy because God’s Spirit is on you in the midst of a context which is so depressed. It’s much better to operate out of divine joy than to operate out of the depressing spiritual environment you are in.
Read more about worship being an alternative universe.
Being Drunk with Others
I remember a time when I went to Bethel Church in Redding (the church where Jesus Culture comes out of and where Bill Johnson teaches), everyone was getting drunk in the Spirit all the time. People were in classrooms falling over with laughter and joy, and it led to them having supernatural faith (which I believe is why they see so many miracles in their church). It was quite an experience, to say the least.
I’ve had a few of those experiences before. There are times when the Spirit of God falls on a group of people and then they suddenly start losing it. I remember just looking at someone else who is shaking, falling, and laughing, and in that moment, all I could think of was Psalm 34 where it says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
We were just so happy and we were enjoying together in our senses that the God who inhabits and surrounds us indeed tastes good. He tastes so good it we just laughed at how good his presence felt on us.
Read about how we should handle mystical experiences
Historical Precedence
I am actually not very well researched in this area, but I want to bring a resource I found from Mike Bickle who found in his research that spiritual manifestations were very common throughout heightened spiritual activity in the church, even the Great Awakenings in American religious history.
Read the PDF of Mike Bickle’s Manifestations of the Spirit in Church History
His PDF also has some great insights that I won’t touch on concerning manifestations in the Spirit.
Common Objections
I want to briefly comment on some common objections I hear.
“The Holy Spirit should yield the fruit of the Spirit, not this.”
True. I love the fruit of the Spirit and how the Spirit teaches and empowers us to live lives of character. But this endeavor is not opposed to being drunk in his presence and the fruit of the Spirit does not sum up the entirety of the NT’s teaching about the expectation for the Spirit.
Read about how Jesus always designed us to depend on the Holy Spirit
“The church should have order (1 Cor 14) and being drunk is wildness”
True, the church should have order. Two comments. First, order is contextual and relative. What is “orderly” is different in a white middle-class congregation and an Indonesian church.
Second, I think the concern in 1 Cor 14 is Paul trying to order the usage of spiritual gifts so that they are working in unity, hence “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor 14:33).
Read about the Assumptions we make about Worship Service
“It’s just really weird.”
I’ll give you that. But I will posit two things. First, I find that the people who find it most weird are influenced more by the American philosophy of naturalism (which often denies spiritual reality / prioritizes intellectualism) than the biblical reality of real spiritual presences influencing human behavior.
The biblical world is rife with spiritualism and ecstatic experiences. Second, there’s a strong connection between the Book of Acts Church in them being filled with the Spirit and the power of the church. Considering how powerless our churches are, perhaps it is not the drunk who are weird, but those aren’t are (I say this not as an indictment, but just to bring a shift in perspective).
What’s the Point of Being Drunk in the Spirit?
The point of being drunk is connected with experiencing God. Yes, I am making a point that being drunk on the Spirit should yield great results. But I think the important thing, which I think most people who oppose it don’t quite get is that encountering God is an end in itself.
When we’re drunk in the Spirit, we are literally filled with God’s presence, for all his joy, his mystery, his power, and it is an amazing feeling and experience.
I mean, you are encountering the God of the universe in a real manifest way. And it should lead you to live a holier, more loving life, which is a goal. But if the gospel is about a relationship with God, then anytime we encounter God, it is a holy end in itself.
And being drunk in the Spirit is a very real way of encountering God.
Read more about Living From the Pleasure of God.
Phil’s Encouragement: Love God’s Presence, No Matter the Cost
I hope you enjoyed this exploration of being drunk in the HOl Spirit from a biblical, theological, and experiential perspective.
The point of me writing this wasn’t just so that you could have understanding. Rather, I wanted to write it because I love God’s presence.
I believe that as believers, we were made to be in God’s presence.
When King David cried out to God because he longed to make a temple suitable for God’s presence to dwell, I believe that same longing lies in God when he designed our human frame. We were meant to experience and inhabit the Holy Spirit.
My encouragement to you is this: Love’s presence, no matter the cost.
Maybe you’ll get drunk in the Holy Spirit, maybe you won’t. To me, it doesn’t really matter. I desire for you to experience the goodness of his nearness.
My only encouragement is that you bear whatever cost it is to experience him. Even if makes you look like a fool. To the hungry does God reward his presence.
Going Deeper
My joy and the aim of this site is to help readers go deeper in their Christian faith.
Books
If you’re interested in more reading, a book that I highly recommend is Bill Johnson’s The Way of Life: Experiencing the Culture of Heaven on Earth.
I love how it is a summative exploration of his entire church and the values and thinking that empower and motivate his lifestyle.
I hope that these thoughts are helpful in helping us think about the phenomenon known as being drunk in the Holy Spirit.
I hope to share more thoughts in the future as I grow experientially, theologically, and spiritually on this subject.
With that being said, I welcome any thoughts or criticisms.
38 comments
Wow !! So encouraged . Very well writte. God bless you .Mind blowing !!!❤😍🙏🏼
awesome! glad you enjoyed it. hope you’re experiencing God’s presence.
A really good book on this topic is “True to His Ways: Purity & Safety in Christian Spiritual Practice.” This book explains and shows how spiritual drunkenness also happens in occult religions, including Hinduism (yoga), and even Satanism. Eye-opening!! Spiritual drunkenness and falling is in reality the fruit of occult practice, and dangerous because it opens people up to demonic forces. Here is a link to information about the book, to buy, and relevant articles – https://baruchhousepublishing.com/true-to-his-ways/
Great recommendation thank you!
Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light and imitate the things of God. However, Spirit filled Christians mature in their faith cast out demons by the same Spirit. As Jesus said when accused of performing miracles by an evil Spirit, no house divided upon itself can stand. God is not a distant eye in the sky, He is tangible and alive in us. Denying the scriptures supporting this is denying the Gospel of power through the Spirit. All Biblically discussed in the Mew Testament. I have experienced God’s presence while praying with a group for more of the Holy Spirit. I have had tingling all over my body, warmth, electrical feeling, laughter, tears, and amazing joy. All of these things are supported in scripture. Do you know what stands between your heart and heaven….your head. What Heavenly Father would give their child a scorpion (or demon) if he asks for more of His Spirit. Trust Him, ask for more.
Counterfeit versions of experiencing the Holy Spirit should never be flippantly associated with what Christians experience like you just commented. It isn’t the same thing, so let’s not call it the same thing. They don’t “also” get drunk in the spirit like Christians do. They do something completely different, influenced by something completely different.
These phenomenon are happening in the occult and other false religions but I think the question is which is the real and which is the counterfeit? We know that speaking in tongues absolutely has biblical precedence but we also know that there is a satanic counterfeit. I certainly agree as I always have that observers on the day of Pentecost would not have thought these men were drunk simply because they were speaking in languages that they did not know. It would seem very reasonable to think that the observer saw them in fact acting drunk.
Wow. This is so interesting. So, I grew up in an Episcopal church, which is far at the other end of the spectrum from Charismatic type church. Several years ago, I could sense a dark cloud coming into my life all the time, but especially when I prayed, and I prayed quite a bit, partly because I was approaching a transition in my life. I kept praying for God not to let it come, but eventually surrendered and prayed “Let your will be done”, and knew it was coming. And then everything in my life fell apart, health, marriage looked like it was falling apart, career. I was under intense psychological turmoil, and it was like my ego just cratered.
Since then, I have been going through a process where energy comes into my body and any and all times day or night, and Brings up the pain and false ideas, and ego attachments from my entire life that need healed and released. I often feel drunk with the energy, usually before it starts bringing the pain up. I’ve been trying to make sense of it, but it is overwhelming and very strange. The first time I felt strange energy was in prayer, and I would like I was spinning or shaking back and forth. It feels different now.
I’m a bit wary of talking about it, because it doesn’t seem to fit into the Christian framework that I have known. I’m a bit afraid like the person above that it will be seen as demonic. But I do believe it is a spiritual awakening. They psychologist, Stephan Taylor talks about it as a purely psychological phenomenon in this article.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201602/breakdowns-and-shift-ups%3famp
It IS also talked about in Eastern Religions a great deal. But I feel like it is going to transform me into someone full of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as it talked about in Galatians 5:22-23. This makes me doubt there is anything demonic about it. Maybe I need to look at Charismatic churches. Just trying to integrate my Christian faith, with other resources that make sense of this.
I will be checking out more of your stuff. Very interesting.
Almost the same thing happened to me.i went to pray but before I could even get to the floor my mouth started speaking in tongues then this darkness came over me and I keep calling out to Jesus then he knocked him away but then it came back and this time it was pulling me to the ground and I was starting to hurt trying to stay up on my knees praying 🙏 it took two hours for him to get me back in the light then he showed me things to come which is world war three and we are in the last hour for me to take care of my mom and to go to church and pray.
Also, I would recommend looking into the Christian mystics. They had some pretty intense experiences of God, but I think are kind of ignored by much of Christianity as well. St. John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, even Thomas Merton and Pierre de Chardin.
The explanation is so amazing thank you so much
Hey! So I’d like to ask about being hung over after being drunk in the spirit. I have friends who do this (I did as a young Christian but as I grew I’ve experienced the spirit in personal ways) they come back feeling hung over the next day. This to me doesn’t feel right in my heart. I don’t want to offend them or pass judgement. I just fret…
@Miranda You’re absolutely right. I think metaphors should be taken only so far. I try to limit my language about it because with “drinking” culture – there are a lot of terms that could be misappropriately applied to God in, what I think you’re getting at, a dishonoring way.
This happens to me, more now lately.. I’m in my late thirties, been more sad lately and HIS spirit comes and lifts me this way. God is a joyous and giving and he does not like seeing us suffer. Thank you for your words, this describes exactly my experience!
There are definitely some other supernatural powers out there so be wise. We all need a Guide and that person is Jesus Himself. Evil spirits flee at His name and His presence. That should tell us something.
I was involved somewhat with paranormal activities before becoming a Christian. Many of the books would even quote verses from the Bible to support their viewpoints. The books taught that if you visualized something clearly and remembered that Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer believing, you shall receive” then you would get what you asked for. I tried doing a detailed visualization of a ballpoint pen. A few days later as I was walking along the road, there was the pen laying right in front of me on the ground! Every detail of the pen was exactly the same as what I had been visualizing.
My abilities will have their limit. Is there any among us who possess the (paranormal) power to live forever? We are just specks of dust in the cosmos.Can anyone 100% know God for who/what He is like entirely with his/her own abilities? Even if your own summations are finally 65% accurate about what God is like, or you still not wrong?
But there is One who can show us the way. Put your trust in Him alone. Spend a little time daily to read the Bible and talk with Him. Be involved in a church. Come out of the darkness and into the light. Take refuge in Him and in being a part of the church (His Body).
Jesus is everything and he should be cause he is part of God with out him it would be so hard to get to heaven 🤣 and I’m going to see him this I know for sure 😊
Literally nothing of what you just wrote had anything to do with this article. Interesting story about non Christian occult practices however. Not sure why you even wrote it. This man just wrote a 900 page article on what it feels like to truly surrender to the Holy Spirit in Jesus name, and everyone is commenting about occult and demons. Sad
Phil Chan, I applaud you for wanting to be more like Him! Failed relationships, careers, etc can be extremely painful but are also great times to grown in the Lord. My failed college love caused me to search deeper about who I was and why I thought the way I did. I sure had a lot of baggage to deal with from my past that I wouldn’t have even known about (or cared about) until my relationship failed! The Holy Spirit was gentle and He took me along a 2-3 year process of reading everything I could get my hands on. I experienced a lot of healing and growth although at time it was very painful. A few things I learned: (1). deal with it in doses. If I continually dwelled upon my past and how to deal with it I began to “spiral down a drain” (so to speak). Deal with it for a while and then do what all of your friends say and get outside, be active, and enjoy other activities. Then come back to “dealing with things” again after a period of time (weeks?) had passed. Don’t let yourself go down into a pit of despair by over focusing on it all the time. Growth takes time. Try to think 5 years down the road or even 20 years down the road. Character is not fashioned overnight and it takes time to become who you want to be. (2).see if your church has a Christian counselor who can help you to process things. Best to not go down this trail alone. They can have a wealth of experience and insight to share with you. Open up to others.
If there is any douters out there, which I know there is. DONT KNOCK IT UNTIL YOUVE TRIED IT
PS ACTS 2:38 IS THE TRUE PLAN OF SALVATION
ST JOHN 3:5. LOVE LOVE
I have no problem with it as long as the person having these experiences is in regular fellowship and is walking in obedience to Christ. Don’t move away from those things, though!
Hebrews 10:25
John 14:15
I have been blessed many times in my life and I was blessed once in my life to the point of being Drunk in the spirit, many many years ago. I owned a Christian florist and after work I went over to a couples house that were good customers of mine for a Bible study ( we also attended the same church) this couple was much older than I and we prayed and they laid hands on me and what happened next actually scared me at first because I became intoxicated and at first I thought they had put something in my ice tea! But the effects wore off and I was able to drive home and that’s when they told me that is what it feels like to be drunk in the spirit! It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in my life! I don’t know how they were able to make that happen for me. And I have only told a couple of people because, well I’m sure you know why. People look at you strangely with disbelief. So sad.
Yes, and I have had some supernatural experiences as well. A spiritual life is, by definition, super (exceeding, transcending, surpassing) the natural. I think the danger is when we overly focus on experience to verify truth rather than utilizing truth to test/verify our experiences. If we don’t have this important priority in order we might be led down the wrong path over time. 2 Corinthians 11:14.
Before I became a Christian, I was quite a pagan and involved in some New Age activities. I was taught that I could attract and draw things to myself if I envisioned them clearly and believed. The New Age book even used one of Jesus’s sentences to support this New Age method by saying “Didn’t Jesus Himself day that ‘If you believe, you shall receive it’ ?”. I tried it out by envisioning a ballpoint pen in extreme detail. It was green with metal bands near the top，center, and bottom. It had a silver push button, etc..
I envisioned it over and over. Two days later, as I was walking along a street, there it was! Right in the middle of my path. It was unmistakingly the exact pen which I had been envisioning down to every minor detail!
In short, even Satan can give good gifts if that’s what it takes to keep us from entrusting our entire lives to Christ and from seeking a personal relationship with Him.
Remember when the sorcerers who served at the Pharaoh of Egypt’s side decided to oppose Moses? We quickly remind ourselves that Moses won the encounter but it can be easy to forget what the sorcerers were able to before that happened. At one point, they were actually able to create (give life to) gnats which they called up from the dust. Amazing!
After I became a Christian, I was more sensitive to the New Age arts. I visited Venice Beach and saw a group of Jamaicans (possible) who had created a “spiritual circle” of about 30 people. They were chanting and swaying in a tight circle with a few of them dancing in the middle while chanting as well. I must admit that I felt an ‘intoxicating’ and soothing feeling come over me as I approached nearer and nearer. But I had come from that kind of background and knew that a certain experience or display of power did not necessarily mean that the power source was from God. I stopped short of the circle and walked away.
My 19 year old friend who had recently come to the Lord (but whom had been diagnosed with a faulty heart valve) would not come anywhere near it and remained about 100 yards away. He claimed that he could sense that it wasn’t from a God. He died just months later after walking closely with the Lord till the end.
That is true they do look at ya like we’re crazy but if they only know right 👍👍
This is such a well written explanation for anyone who has not experienced the Spirit manifest in a physical way.
When I first experienced it I was astounded and said to God “why didn’t you tell us You feel this way.” I was shocked and it happened in small ways at first over 3 years and then one major experience so far for about 4 or 5 days straight. I don’t drink alcohol anymore or do drugs but I used to be addicted to alcohol and weed which Jesus delivered me from some time ago.
When I was overcome with the manifestation of His Spirit in more excess than before, I was shocked to feel that I felt tipsy on the Spirit of God and after a few days it lessened and I felt hungover and almost slightly floaty and could not form words fully or so it felt. It did make me ask ‘is this correct to feel this way’ but I knew it happened as a result of worshipping and dancing and praising Jesus for over a week almost 24/7 day and night with little to no sleep.
What I experienced as being drunk on the Spirit led me to understand that when God talks about wine and living water…this is indeed what He is talking about. Or so I believe based on what I experienced with God in my house, just Him and I. Its not something I have really seen in my own church and I dont think people would all accept it. They would quicker accept someone manifesting a demon but possibly not so much the Spirit of God. Wow what a loss for us. As you get more revelation of God and His heart and love, it becomes easier to discern what spirit is Him or not. It almost becomes kind of obvious. Yes it does not look like you are in control of your body but really you are and you can sort of stop anytime and still function with a slight flighty feeling. It makes you love God so much more and are so much more desperate for Jesus and to tell the world, “You dont need to drink alcohol or do drugs! thats all the devils lie to try to imitate what God actually makes you feel when filled with His Spirit.”
Personally I love it and I desire it and I feel pretty sad when I don’t feel that manifestation. Its what I live for now, to be so close to God, like He wants to be with you so bad He takes over all of you and makes you dance and sing in tongues. I remember even saying over those few days…”I cant explain this feeling or sensation but it feels like purity” Turned out I was listening to a worship set on repeat titled ‘The Purity of Jesus’. Thats a confirmation.
My manifested experiences with God have led me to give up my old ways, I was set free from addictions and loneliness, in those moments I don’t have suicidal feelings or anxiety and fear…I have become celibate and even have had God encourage me to not masturbate which most months I don’t and otherwise pray to fight the urge if it comes.
It’s great to see you mention Bethel Church. This year God led me to Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry and even provided all the school fees for it on the day of my school interview when I was going to cancel because I could not afford it. I had a financial miracle arrive on the same day and Its obvious that was God.
The Bible gives great advice on discerning. It says we will recognise the people of God by their fruit..I believe all of my above are some of the fruit which is the opposite of leading a destructive life that I would have otherwise. the devil does not save you or free you. God does and He had to remind me about recognising my fruit when I was questioning being drunk of the Spirit the first time.
I agree with your hunger for the Spirit of God and all that comes with it can also mean the devil will try to feed that hunger too but again, pray to Jesus! Remember things like prophesy, drunk on the Spirit, visions and dreams etc are ALL things of God, made by God for HIS children and stolen by and twisted by the devil for his followers. God created all this first and the new age and satan/demons have been ripping it off and making God seem crazy but the demonic seem normal. Don’t fall for that and be closed minded and miss out on Gods ecstasy, also called ‘Joy’ in the Bible. Just like sex, God designed it but the devil corrupted it…now sex is either lust, shameful, distasteful or abusive…NOT WHAT GOD CREATED it for. Same thing as comparing the spiritual experiences. It’s all supernatural but one is not God and one is.
As for being drunk and even hungover on the precious Holy Spirit of our Father, unless God Himself says its not a good thing to be hungry for, I will continue diving into His Spirit and pray He continues to consume mine all the days of my existence!
I agree with Annie wholeheartedly that it is a shame that the existence of demonic spirits (2 Corinthians 11:14) must make us wary throughout our whole Christian walk. God absolutely works miraculously today as He did in times past but unfortunately we must continually “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1) and remain alert.
I myself have had some very supernatural experiences. But we must double-check those experiences against the truth and standard of the Bible. That’s not to say that every experience we have must be the exact same as one that we see depicted in the Bible but it definitely must line up with the truth which is clearly taught in the Word. For example, if someone says they had a vision “that grandma, grandpa, and all my cousins (whom you knew were very opposed to the Lord in heart and deeds) were all given a second chance to believe in the Lord after they had already died”, then you know without a doubt that the vision was false (Hebrews 9:27).
Many people are currently trusting in an experience as proof of their salvation even though their lives do not match up with the Word. We cannot see into the heart of others so must be careful not to judge. But He sees plain as day and there is no tricking or deceiving Him. Are hearts are like an open book before Him (Hebrews 4:12). Last week a man explained to me that the Lord had spoken to his heart loudly during a church service and it caused him to burst into laughing for minutes on end. I could tell that the young man felt this was evidence that he was “saved”. However, his life did not exhibit the evidence of having God’s spirit living in him. We all struggle with sin (James 3:2). That is why 1 John 1:9 is my favorite verse and I recall it in my heart everyday when I find myself dwelling for too long on a thought or attitude that would not be pleasing to Him! But if a person is continuously living in sin as a way of life (as this young man was doing) then the Bible is quite clear that the person can have no confidence in his/her salvation and relationship with God (1 John 3:7-10). I cannot see into that person’s heart yet I do not need to in order to understand whether or not he belongs to Christ. I pray for him often.
Annie, I am so excited to see your zeal for living a holy life, my dear sister!
Mike, why are you hijacking every single comment and talking about yourself and your pagan history? You already wrote a super long comment of your own. I think the moderator should delete all your replies to everyone. This isn’t the “Mike used to be New Age”show.
God does not want your money, nor does He need this or that from you.. Quite simply, He w
wants…….YOU. And there is always an open door (Luke 15:11-32)!
Man thanks that’s everything I was going to say until I just read yours, 😃 that crazy.
‘Highlighting’ —
“All my worries that I was presently thinking about are suddenly put into perspective of being in the presence of an overly joyous God. His joy wells up inside me and I can’t help but just laugh because my troubles are so silly. He loves me like crazy.
It’s like God is tickling me and revelation is just flowing. I see and hear thoughts constantly; I literally want to write and tweet them out all the time. I will want to spontaneously dance and worship God, which I often will do. His presence on me is so strong with divine happiness and I will start praying in tongues.”
What an explanation! 🎯
My experience is parallel to that which you described here. It’s truly divine and a place I long to remain indefinitely! Thank you for a sweet introduction! I look forward to reading more of your blogs!
Peace!
So awesome! Glad it was helpful language for you. Bless you
Phil: I am definitely not a Pentecostal Christian. But when I became a believer 25 years ago, I experienced something that, to this day, I rarely, almost never, hear about from others. It was truly the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Leading me to repentance. And saving faith. Followed by unspeakable joy as I felt the tangible presence of a previously-silent, and absent God. Then followed several months of feeling disoriented and on fire to spread the Gospel. A literal 180 from the person I was just weeks prior. I sensed the physical presence of God in the room on that first day, and I even said out loud: ‘You actually do exist! Incredible!”
Since then, I feel like I’ve wandered an empty desert of solitude.
I’ve told my salvation story to countless people and most of the time get head scratching and a polite “good for you”. Finding someone who understands and has experienced this has been nearly impossible. I don’t know if there’s just not a lot of Christians in the church, or if I was just given “extra holy spirit” for some weird reason, to empower me to something of greater service.
But over time, I allowed doubts and skepticism to fill my mind, and after 25 years, only three or four weeks ago, did I finally return, on my knees, to the One who saved me. I’ve actually been searching to find him for the last year but was getting nothing but silence in response. I’m fairly tenacious however and I don’t give up. Not with something as important as this.
Weeks ago, I finally had a shift and fully surrendered myself to his will. There were no areas of my life that were no longer dedicated to him. I was 100% his. I told him: I am yours. Here I am. Use me. And in the days following this revelation, I entered that experience of being drunk in the spirit for the first time in 25 years.
The feeling was incredible. I would even be out with friends and my mind would wander off, and my eyes would look to the horizon and I would just enter into a state of worship while they were talking. I couldn’t help myself. I often had to ground myself mentally and physically just to not enter that “alternate universe” you talked about.
Everything you described in this article perfectly describes what it is. I was finding myself walking around my apt for no reason whatsoever and just chuckling. It was a joy inside of me for no reason other than His presence. You wrote about that above and I just started crying tonight. Because you’re the only one I’ve ever met that gets it. I don’t fall down on the floor and flail around. I’ll probably never speak in tongues. But his Spirit is so present and intoxicating that I do find it hard at times to keep myself centered – – because I’m so lost in praise and worship, inside of myself. I am also unbelievably empowered to speak to people about Christ, and it’s a craving that I can’t set aside. I feel unbelievably strong in my prayers and I am 100% convinced in what I am requesting of him.
Everything you wrote was so perfect. Exact. So well phrased.
To be even more edgy, you may want to actually have a glass of red wine sometime when you’re in this mode, and watch what happens. It’s been coincidental and even accidental, but everything about this experience goes into overdrive with wine. No coincidence that it’s so closely associated with our saviors life and message. When done in moderation and responsibly, it seems to catalyze and enhance like nothing else possibly could.
Regardless, I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing this article. You’ve made me feel “not so alone” in the world for the first time, in my faith. And while I probably will never be comfortable in a Pentecostal church because I am so sensitive to Christians faking their Christianity, I will nurture and revel in the presence of the Holy Spirit in my own life. It’s just so crazy that you associate it with drunkenness because it really feels that way. It’s confusing, exciting, and wonderful.
Experiences are great! In order to be truly valuable, however, the experiences must lead to an ever-increasing joyful and obedient relationship with God. All organizations (YWAM, Navigators, etc) offer basic Bible study lessons that will guide a person in how to have a stable and strong long-term relationship with God (Job 11:13-19). We get to know Him better and grow in our faith when we spend regular time in His Word and prayer. The more time that you spend in the Word, the sharper will become your discernment (1 Cor.12:10 “distinguishing of spirits”).We should join a local church out of obedience to Christ (Hebrews 10:24-25) as we were not created to be Lone Rangers in the Lord. He Himself has chosen the spiritual gifts that each believer has (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). Those gifts are not for our own glory, but for use in building up the church body (Ephesians 4:11-13). Older and more mature Christians in the church will be a wealth of wisdom and guidance in the Lord.
Thanks for thanks for the article. Very informative.
I’m a Charismatic Christian, still believe the gifts of the Spirit (I Corinthians 12:8-10) and the five ascensions gifts, apostles, prophet, evangelists, pastors and teachers are active. However,I beg to differ about why the crowd in Acts2. might have thought why those in the room were drunk
To quote:
Acts 2:13: “Others mocked them saying, ‘They are filled with new wine’” and later Peter responded to this accusation by saying “These are people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day” (2:15).
I would like to suggest what took place in the room was not the type of experience Hyper Charismatics refer to as “being drunk in the Spirit,” although the Holy Spirit was definitely moving(Acts 2:1-4)).
If you were hearing a large group of people suddenly get excited and speak in about a dozen or so different languages, all at the same time, would you not possibly think they were drunk? I once heard sermon wherein the minister said, “Peter and the others in the upper room literally staggered out in the streets to the crowd, thus proven they were drunk in the Spirit. SMH.
Additionally, no place in the Bible does it state or imply that those in the room were staggering, convulsing or laying on the floor! They were simply speaking all at the same time in different languages, and were likely a bit loud. Yet sadly, today in some Charismatic circles the mockery from the crowd is used as evidence that Peter and the others were preaching in a senseless stupor,
Please note I’m not condemning you but sharing my heart to what I consider is a questionable teaching taught by many in the Body of Christ.
Blessings.
Dan
Yes! 🙌 Too often in Christianity do we teach culture as Biblical truth. Just the term “Drunk in the Spirit” is steeped in “Pentecostal” culture. It’s not be not drunk with wine but instead be drunk in the Spirit. It’s instead be filled with the Spirit. Yes, culture differs, and the definition of “order” varies a bit, but running in circles, writhing on the floor, behind in any way without self-control is disorderly in any culture. Yes, the fruit of the spirit and gifts of the spirit listed may not be exhaustive, but they certainly better not contradict each other. God is not man that he should lie. The Spirit cannot contradict himself. If “the Spirit” does, it must be another spirit. Gal 1:8 – “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” 1 John 4:1 – “do not believe every Spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Yes, there is a tension between interpreting the descriptive and prescriptive, but when the prescriptive informs the descriptive, we follow that, no matter our experience.
As a commenter mentioned above, the gifts are meant to build up the body, and unlike the false dichotomy espoused by a commenter above and common to Pentecostals, God won’t give you whatever gift you want because he’s good and won’t give you a scorpion. A certain gift for a certain person, e.g. money to a compulsive gambler, or a fantastic gift to a prideful person, can be far worse than a scorpion.
Regardless, the Bible should inform our culture, and our experience of other cultures should cause us to re-evaluate where the line between cultural (variable) truth and objective, timeless truth exists.
The “tipsy” concept is eisegesis, a reading in of Pentecostal culture. I think the last commenter said it best. Simply all talking at once, loudly, in different languages, and all seemingly talking to themselves, perhaps like a crazy homeless person, would appear drunk and out of place/contextually inappropriate, with no unmistakably drunk behavior involved – falling over, laughing uncontrollably, etc. I don’t think this is a faithful/reasonable/natural/literal interpretation but a reading in of Pentecostal experience.
I’m half with you on the section on drunk with wine. Self-control and behind of sound mind are fruits of the Spirit, so clearly the opposite can’t be a gift of the Spirit. Perhaps a desire to overflow with love or boldness (which has been filled in us) is, but alcohol causes fleshly overflow, and the flesh we know is at odds/opposite to the Spirit. Does the Spirit cause lowering of inhibition? I think not. Perhaps lowering of resistance to the Spirit, which would be increased conduciveness to the fruit of the Spirit and God’s will vs one’s own – which includes selfish experience. I’ve seen plenty of youth come out of ecstatic worship experiences and leave to act in any way but demonstrating the fruit of the spirit, and casting shame on Christ by their selfish behavior. This demonstrates these feelings can be counterfeited or proceed from a source other than the Spirit.
I refer to 1 Sam 19 frequently, as this is an example of the Spirit stopping Saul from sinning and visiting him in judgment.
As some said, the extreme ecstatic behaviors are exhibited in pagan environments. They say these are counterfeits. I’d contend they’re all counterfeits. A desire to experience God and a willingness to counterfeit to experience it on one’s own terms, or to fit in with the crowd – certainly tongues is this way since Paul’s words require that “[not] all speak in tongues.”
Certainly we never see Jesus behaving this way, or in most any way we would say didn’t exemplify self-control – except for perhaps the table flipping, though that was certainly done with intention.
Ultimately the phrase “drunk in the Spirit” is unbliblical and dishonoring to God. A new gospel coming out of the last few hundred years that’s neither given clear example of in Scripture, nor taught, but in fact opposed.
While being full of God’s love can express itself unexpectedly – e.g. David marching back with the ark – to behave in a manner no one could ever confuse as decent and in order certainly is out of step with clear Biblical teaching from Paul. I’ve seen Christian supposedly overcome with the Spirit moving quite violently, nearly striking someone else in their erratic movements, in a worship service. You are correct that “decently and in order” varies, as for some congregations this would exclude raised hands in song.
I do appreciate that your primary intention is to experience God, and not simply to have an experience. Ultimately our goal in worship is simply to honor God, to abide in him, and in that our emotions and characters are transformed – though not by some magic formula that certain songs or chords or actions occur and the Holy Spirit is conjured to behave in a certain way (e.g. making us drunk).
It certainly seems your heart is in the right place. I just think your arguments are informed more by culture than by a simple, clear reading of the Bible, and as such are weak. We worship God in spirit and in truth, obeying His word, no matter the cost, no matter what culture says. Ultimately we can be conformed to the world, rather than the word, even if that “world” is a church or ecclesiastical culture.
One more thought: counterfeit gifts which are human-manufactured for the sake of having an ecstatic experience ultimately add fuel on the fire of cessationism. There’s no evidence in scripture that the gifts have ceased, but if all we see are experiences which don’t match the Biblical model and have more in common with paganism, can you blame the Bible-believing Christian? The experiences we see the most hyper-Charismatic seeking today we only truly see modeled in idol worship – e.g. what Moses saw when he came down the mountain with the ten commandments. There’s so much mystery in our experience of God. To us lie the revealed and the mysteries are His. But if we can’t rest firmly on the foundation on what’s revealed, worshipping in spirit & truth, how do we expect that God, who IS Spirit & Truth, to show up for real? We must embrace THE Gospel, THE Spirit, THE Truth, as revealed in Scripture, and not manipulated to match our circumstances, particularly in our ego-centric culture which makes the worship experience centered on the worshipper. The value of both our faith AND worship rest on their Object (God), not the subject (us).
This is what ‘drunk in the spirit’ is according to scripture…
Isaiah 29:9-10 …they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. (10) For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
Job 12:24-25 – He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. (25) They grope in the dark without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.
Absolutely not. Those verses refer to the Lord placing (or allowing) a darkness of their spirits to settle upon them due to their hardness of heart and constant refusal of the Lord and His holy ways. See Romans 1:20-25. The Lord never forces anyone to come to Him. Rather, He continues to reach out and woo you by sending Christians and His Word into your life, etc.. But at some point, He will just let you go on your own way. That’s the time to be concerned! Respond to His drawing now while you still have light.
This was such a great article. I like that you already knew how some would react but appreciated your honest and open minded approach. I laughed out loud when I saw Pentecost is June 8th because I had an episode of extreme manic energy that lasted days and it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced around the second week in June 2024. After consulting with other fellow Christians I realized Other people had a hard time understanding what I’m talking about & just what it felt like. I found this researching places in the Bible where it talks about these “prophetic frenzies.” It feels like being on drugs but as a Christian this is hard to articulate to other Christians! Anyway thanks for your help